


Morning Sun

by WhateverWarrior



Series: Burning Star [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: First of many?, Fluff, Gen, Its super lowkey, Let Characters be People, M/M, Older Man/Younger Man, Pre-One Piece Canon, They ain't actually dating, i guess?, yet - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-17 11:06:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16515179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhateverWarrior/pseuds/WhateverWarrior
Summary: Admiral Akainu, real name Sakazuki, led a Marine division and with that came paperwork. Despite that, Captain Tashi Nova takes his superior out to breakfast.





	Morning Sun

**Author's Note:**

> No Smut. Its kinda just what I think Sakazuki would be like as an Admiral. He can't hate all of his subordinates, right? And also I wanted to give him a cute boyfriend. Sue me.  
> I didn't want to start a story so this is going to be a series.  
> Also, the laugh that's described is the same one Ross from Game Grumps has. I personally love it

If there was anything more irritating than someone not doing their job, it would be someone doing their job wrong. How hard was it to fill out paperwork? Could no one read well enough to know the difference between an inquiry and an explanation? Why was it that every paper that lands on his desk has to be deciphered and/or sent back? Why would Sengoku promote anyone who couldn’t even fill out paperwork? If he were Fleet Admiral he would never let such subpar soldiers rise in rank. 

Why would anyone think the words, ‘Scary’ ‘Dumb’ or ‘Silly’ would have any place in a report? Did they actually believe anyone would care what color the pirate's shoes were, or what they smelled like? This was getting out of hand. He had half a mind to go down his ranks scold every one of them on their piss poor skills and professionalism. Hell, he should beat the rule into them. How dare they waste his time and have him read these poor excuse -

“Ring-a-Ding-Ding!”

In came one of his Captains, lightly knocking as they opened the door. Captain Tashi Nova stood at a simple 5’3, about 162 centimeters. Even as a baseline human he was still quite short; being a 19 year old man who had to look up at most he wasn’t very intimidating. It didn’t help that his eyes were so wide, much like a child, and his face was so angular. High cheekbones, pointed chin, and a button nose all sat on a heart-shaped face. 

And yet, he was a force to be reckoned with. The youngest Captain in Navy history, Tashi Nova had made his way up the latter from Seaman First Class to Captain in three years, having spent a little over a month in the Sailor ranks. He had gotten a reputation when he had answered Garp the Fist’s question of why he was so quick to climb the ranks. Having been asked why and how the then recently turned 17 year old had given a flimsy explanation about how he wanted to be Fleet Admiral before he turned 30. And as of a year ago, he has become one of Sakazuki’s men, one of his best.

“Ooh, you look maad. Is it paperwork or idiots?” 

Sakazuki couldn’t help but snort. Watching as the young man placed another stack of folders on his right side as he leaned over to inspect his work.

“Ahh. Yes, red marks of failure. Correcting soldiers like a teacher in a child’s school. Terrible.” He shook his head as he straightens. Big violet eyes lit up as he stared at his superior. The Admiral let out a breath.

“I should apply for a secretary for this. Too much time is spent on irrelevant things like this.” He lifted a particularly awful paper. Most of the white was covered in red, outlining mistakes and corrections. His only response was the younger’s laugh. It was a terrible sound, three loud bursts of laughs followed by breathy chuckling. 

“Do you want me to do it? Not the secretary work, I mean the officers themselves.” Sakazuki raised an eyebrow.

“You? What would you do?” Nova brought his hand to his chest and gasped.

“You wound me, Sir! I’ll have you know I have great people skills. People like me.” He leaned back and hummed. Really, what could his Captain possibly do to change  _ all _ his underlings' pathetic report skills?

“Fine. If you have the childish enthusiasm and drive to do this then be my guest. The sooner this is fixed the sooner I can do my job in peace.” He leaned forward to grab the newest folders when his wrist was pulled up.

“Since we’ve agreed to let me fix your problem, how about we go get breakfast?” Nova smiled, raising his eyebrows as he pulled again on the man’s wrist.

“Breakfast? It's...” he turned looking toward his clock, attempting to check the time. He had come in early, as he usually did, but he has been doing this pain in the ass paperwork for hours.

“It's 8:49, and I know this great little cafe.” Sakazuki pulled his hand away and started moving his paperwork around. Nova sighed and moved to drape his body on the large desk. 

“Captain -“ 

“Don’t ‘Captain’, you need a break and meals only last like an hour, 90 minutes at most!” He moved his arm to cover the folders in the Admiral’s hands. Bending his knee and putting his booted foot on the corner of the desk, the only place not covered.

“I have work to do, I will not go with you to some diner and waste my time” he growled. Why was Nova so childish? If he didn’t have such an impressive record and a year in each other's’ presence this would be a very different conversation. Not many would attempt to  _ whine _ to Akainu to get him to spend  _ more _ time with them. Not many would have very long conversations with the man, let alone act so casual. But it was well known that Tashi Nova cared little for professionalism and stiff boundaries. He showed no real fear in most situations. 

The man in question let out a large breath and turned his head to the feared Admiral. His face was slack, almost bored looking, as he watched the other man move his work.

“You know, it wouldn’t kill you to think about your own wellbeing for once.” Sakazuki looked up, what could he be talking about?

“I mean, spending all day every day in the same spot doing the same things isn’t very healthy. People actually  _ need _ to socialize, even just a little bit.” he turned his head back to the ceiling, ”When you don’t you can become stagnant. Your mind gets tired and your emotions get all sad. It’s terrible for your mental health and I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to you, y’know.”

“If I say yes will you give up the whining?” Nova shot up and turned to Sakazuki with a smile.

“Weell, for a few days at least.”

 

______

 

Tashi Nova would make a terrible Cipher Pol agent. The first thing he does when he walks through the door is loudly complement the barista and start a conversation over the  _ color green.  _ It didn’t last long, many had their attention focused solely on the large Admiral as he followed the smaller man. 

“Anyway, I’ll just get what I usually get and my boss’ll take what I get when I crawl in here on Fridays.” The woman behind the counter giggled and started typing out the orders. Did the Captain really come here that often? And what could he possibly be doing on Thursdays that would have him in such bad shape? The lives of his underlings were always such a bother. 

The boy turned, grabbed the older man’s hand, and started leading him to a spot in the back corner. With his back to the wall, Nova started yelling to another worker, asking about surgeries and sickness. Really, he was much too invested in other people’s lives.

“Sorry, anyway I got you what I get sometimes so at least I know it tastes bomb. Not to be overbearing or anything but its a new place and all. For you at least. I also didn’t wanna spend our 90 minutes with you taking forever to decide on food. That's my job.” He positively beamed.

“Come here often?” Sakazuki hummed. Only to be ever so slightly startled by the abrupt laughing that followed.

“Are you hitting on me, Sir?  _ Terrible _ .” He shook his head, wild ginger locks following, disrupting the already messy mane. “No, I come here a lot, but the people here are really kind. They memorized my order in a  _ week _ . And, I mean, everyone on this island is family to other Marines so they get it. Its nice cause they understand the job but they don’t actually do it so I don’t just talk about missions and work.”

He seemed so calm, a rarer aspect. Tashi Nova spent much of his time calm, in dire situations. It was one of his best qualities, the ability to stay calm and collected when pressured and out of options. It was respectable. It  _ also _ wasn’t something associated with a smile. Not to Sakazuki that is. But then again this was the first time the two have had such a conversation. Most were spent with Captain Tashi breaking the ice, prodding his superior and acting out. 

“Don’t’cha think?” 

“I do not spend much time with other people’s families.”

The younger tilted his head. Then he squinted. Then he pursed his lips…  _ Really? _

“Is that so hard to believe?” Did he not have any observation skills? Sakazuki had worked alongside him so it wasn’t that. Did he just not use them? No, again Sakazuki has seen the Captain deduce his surroundings. He’d seen it enough times to be able to figure out the younger man was  _ always _ observing. Even if it was not as intense as when in battle, it was still there. 

“... No.” 

Silence. Nothing for a moment but the noise of the other people, their plates and the cooking. Both had their arms crossed, though the Admiral had his crossed since he left his office. The Captain, on the other hand, has had them crossed for all of 3 minutes. And yet, his expression hasn’t changed. He was thinking of something, if only Sakazuki could figure out  _ what _ . 

“What is it?” The ginger’s lips twitched but they once again fell into a soft frown. 

“... Have you ever tried to connect with your subordinates? Or, before that?” He seemed concerned. Though it was met with a raised eyebrow.

“Not in the past decade or so. People are too naive. Much too soft.” He looked to the side where a young man was bringing trays of food. And after a moment, Nova’s enthusiasm came back to ask the man if his father had come back yet. He had. The food itself was very different between them. The Admiral’s plate had grilled chicken with roasted vegetables and avocado spread on toast. Nova, on the other hand, had a salad with hard-boiled egg halves, tomatoes and avocado, with oatmeal topped with yogurt, blueberries and something white on the side.

Nova once again turned sober eyes on his boss.

“Kizaru isn’t?” Sakazuki scoffed.

“Borsalino is like a disease. He never goes away.” 

“Hmm. Sounds like Herpes…” Their eyes connected and Nova threw his head back and laughed, Sakazuki simply smiled.

“ _ What  _ could you possibly do on Thursdays that lead to this?” Nova looked down on the food as Sakazuki gestured with his fork. Then he threw his head back again and guffawed. 

“No, I don’t drink!” He snorted. “Friday is hell day.”

“Uh huh.” Of course.

“Pfft, no you  **ass** . Fridays are when I work out almost all day. I push myself to my limits,  _ completely _ , once a week. I try to do that even at sea but... Well, it’s easier said than done.” He smiled. And as he reached over to take a drink Sakazuki decides he might as well keep asking.

“And what is this?” He lifted up his drink. It was dark green and thick and honestly, he wasn’t sure what it smelled like.

“That's a Blueberry Spinach Smoothie.” Ah, so that's why it didn’t smell right. It  _ was _ good for muscles at least.

“I didn’t think you drank coffee.” The smoothie didn’t taste bad either.

“I don’t. This is hot dark chocolate. Well, it  _ was _ hot. I prefer cold drinks.”

They continued as Nova took the lead of the subjects. It always went like this, Nova talking and questioning and explaining as Sakazuki responded when he felt like it. At the best times, he answered Nova’s questions, at worse Nova just went on without breathing. Seemingly.

As they finished the Captain brought up the dishes himself and introduced his commanding officer to a few of the employees. Because of that, there was a bit of background laughing as Nova pushed Sakazuki’s hand when he reached for his wallet. The younger man already had his money out and there truly was no reason to cause a scene.

Walking back was actually spent in quiet. At least for a few blocks. The Captain turned to the Admiral and smirked.

“Y’know the people working the place are all family.”

Yes, he guessed that. They looked too similar after all.

“The rest of their family works with us though.”

Oh.

___

 

The next morning Admiral Akainu sat down early, as he did, and sighed as he reached for the paperwork piling up on his desk. He’d gotten another wave last night and it didn’t promise much. Half an hour later though he started to get suspicious. He reached over and checked another file. Then another. Then another. He got nine files in when he realized it wasn’t  _ one _ subordinate who seemed to get more coherent overnight. It was almost as if someone had flipped a switch on their competence. When had that happened?

It was an hour later when he looked up at his clock that he saw a note taped on the center. Getting up to pull it down he immediately recognized the writing.

**_‘Childish enthusiasm? Please!_ **

**_Don’t act like you have no faith in me. I’ve yet to fail._ **

**_Your WELCOME!’_ **

                                                                     It was signed with the kanji for his name inside a star. 

Huh… If he’ll be damned. Sakazuki almost felt like he should give him something. A reward for being his most competent subordinate. 

Well, it  _ was _ Friday… 

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to ask questions about them, I guess. It's probably not that interesting, but if y'all got ideas I probably will write them out as scenarios. This does take place before the series.  
> What are milestones in a relationship?


End file.
